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U.S. News & World Report Ranks Union Memorial Among the Nation’s Best Hospitals
Identified As Top 50 Hospital in Three Categories
Washington D.C. – July, 15, 2010 – Union Memorial Hospital earned its place in three healthcare categories to rank in the top 50 of the best hospitals in the nation, according to a survey published in the August 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report.
The 2010-11 America’s Best Hospitals list identifies Union Memorial Hospital as 32nd in Orthopedics, 38th in Heart and Heart Surgery and new to the list this year, Neurology and Neurosurgery, 47th.
This is the sixth year the Union Memorial orthopedic program made the prestigious list, which assesses more than 4800 hospitals. There were 1,740 hospitals that qualified for ranking but did not score high enough to be ranked.
“There’s continuity with our Centers of Excellence being identified as a Top 50 hospital in the nation, and it comes from the quality of care hardwired into our culture,” said Union Memorial Hospital president, Bradley Chambers. “This type of national recognition affirms the outstanding work of our entire team that gives its best to every patient, everyday, and I couldn’t be more proud. It is a privilege to care for patients from throughout the region and beyond who travel here for our specialty services.”
The rankings in 12 of the 16 specialties were driven by hard data such as death rates, procedure volume, and balance of nurses and patients. In the four remaining specialties--ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and rheumatology--hospitals were ranked on reputation alone.
Best Hospitals 2010-11 includes rankings of 152 medical centers nationwide in 16 specialties, including cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, ear, nose, and throat, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonology, rehabilitation, rheumatology, and urology.
To be considered in any of the 12 data-driven specialties, a hospital first had to meet at least one of four criteria: It had to be a teaching hospital, or be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least 200 beds, or have 100 or more beds and the availability of four or more types of medical technology considered important in a high-quality medical facility, such as a PET/CT scanner and certain precision radiation therapies.
Next, the hospitals had to meet a volume requirement, individually calculated for each specialty. The required volume was the number of Medicare inpatients from 2006 to 2008 who had various specified procedures and conditions in the specialty. A hospital that fell short could still qualify if it had been nominated by at least one physician in any of the U.S. News Best Hospitals reputational surveys conducted in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
“When the stakes are high, you want the best care you can get for yourself or someone close to you,” said Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. “These hospitals are accustomed to seeing the sickest patients day in and day out.”
The Best Hospitals "Honor Roll" highlights 14 medical centers that were ranked at or near the top in at least six specialties.
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